[at-l] A Walking Book Review

[lorac4491 at linkamerica.net (Coosa)]

"Walking to Vermont: From Times Square Into the Green Mountains -- A Homeward .Adventure," by Christopher S. Wren (Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020; 800-456-6798; business@simonandschuster.com, $24).

So one day, this intrepid journalist turns 65 and decides to walk home -- except that his retirement residence is about 400 miles away. Wren, the author of "The Cat Who Covered the World," among other books, has written about many of the globe's hot spots for The New York Times, and his reminiscences (from an ambush in Vietnam to a cocaine factory in Colombia to a murder in South Africa) enrich his trek through five states. "What if everyone upon turning sixty-five," he writes, "hit the road, whether by foot or bicycle, a wheelchair, or simply in their heads, in search of their true age?" The premise for this endearing book is that after years of whizzing back and forth by car from his and his wife's summer home in Vermont to their Manhattan apartment, he wanted to slow the countryside down from a fast blur and see what he'd missed. "Walking doesn't sound so bizarre in the context, of, well, the history of mankind," Wren contends.

His wife, though sympathetic, is not so inclined.

Along the Appalachian Trail, he encounters a host of kindred souls and oddballs, some with monikers like Old Rabbit, Gatorman and Stray Dog. He battles bad weather, pointless "ups and downs," and even Lyme disease to reach his goal. Along the way he imparts this important truth about the trail: cheap cotton socks don't get you very far. Wren's lyrical style, journalistic curiosity and self-effacing personality make him a walking companion worthy of Thoreau and his book a small gem. One of my favorite episodes occurs his first full day out when, in the furthest reaches of the Bronx, he discovers that the Times hasn't deposited any of his last paychecks and his account is empty. But since his ATM is right by the No. 2 train, he heads back downtown to Times Square and the newspaper's accounting department. Most likely they told him to take a hike.